Australian Kangaroo Stamps - Detail

Australian Kangaroo StampsThese stamps are the most popular postage stamps of Australia. The basic kangaroo in map design was arranged by the Postmaster-General, Mr Frazer. Based on the artwork done by Blamire Young, a British artist, the Postmaster-General released the design in April 1912. After some intense critisism of the design, it was modified slightly and the Postmaster-General proceeded with its release.Here are some examples of this issue:

Ten Shillings

Nine Pence

Six Pence

Nine Pence(inverted watermark)

Two Pounds

One Pound

Five Pence

Four Pence(punctured for official use)

Three Pence(punctured for official use in NSW)

Two Pence

These postage stamps were printed on watermarked paper that has 5 distinct varieties : 1st watermark, 2nd watermark, 3rd watermark, small multiple watermark and C of A watermark.For official use the stamps were punctured with a large O.S or a small O.S and some have also black overprints of ''OS''.Also, there are examples of stamps where the watermark is inverted, like the above-pictured 9 Pence. Usually, to represent this inversion, the image of the stamp is turned upside down.